Justia West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Two individuals (Claimants) who sustained work-related injuries received workers’ compensation benefits. Claimants sought additional benefits as a result of further symptoms related to their original workplace injuries and timely requested that the new diagnoses be added to their original claims. In both cases, however, denials of compensability and/or medical treatment required extensive litigation through the workers’ compensation system. The Supreme Court ultimately found Claimants to be entitled to the compensability ruling/medical treatment they had requested, but as a result of the litigation delays, Claimants’ requests for permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits associated with the newly added diagnoses were denied by the workers’ compensation system as untimely filed. The Supreme Court reversed the rulings of the Board of Review denying Claimants’ PPD evaluation requests as untimely and remanded, holding (1) Claimants’ requests for a PPD evaluation were timely pursuant to W. Va. Code 23-4-16(a)(2); and (2) to hold otherwise would effectively deny Claimants their statutory rights to receive a permanent disability evaluation and to be compensated for their workplace injuries. Remanded. View "Hammons v. W. Va. Office of Ins. Comm’r" on Justia Law

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services (DHHR) filed a petition in the circuit court initiating the underlying abuse and neglect case. The petition alleged that Respondent Stepfather sexually abused K.P. and that Respondent Mother failed to protect K.P. from Stepfather and committed acts of emotional abuse against K.P. The DHHR removed all minor children from the home. After a multi-day adjudicatory hearing, the circuit court dismissed the abuse and neglect petition, concluding that DHHR had not met its burden of proving that K.P. was abused by either respondent and that Stepfather’s refusal to testify and rebut the abuse charges could not be used as evidence against him. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) Respondents were abusing parents with regard to K.P., and therefore, the health and welfare of the other children in the home was also at risk; and (2) accordingly, the circuit court erred by refusing to adjudicate all the minor children as abused children. View "In re K.P." on Justia Law

When an officer working at a sobriety checkpoint encountered Respondent, the officer administered a series of field sobriety tests. The officer then administered a preliminary breath test, which Respondent failed. A secondary chemical test of Respondent’s breath indicated that Respondent’s blood alcohol content was .157. The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) subsequently revoked Respondent’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle in the State for the offense of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). The Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) reversed the DMV’s order of revocation, finding that the sobriety checkpoint deviated from the police department’s “DUI Sobriety Checkpoint Operations Manual” and that those deviations rendered Respondent’s arrest unlawful. The circuit court affirmed the order of the OAH and reinstated Respondent’s driver’s license. The Supreme Court reversed the circuit court’s order and remanded for reinstatement of the DMV’s revocation order, holding that the sobriety checkpoint at issue was legally valid and that Respondent’s arrest for DUI was lawful. View "Reed v. Pettit" on Justia Law

Larry Myers, a sales associate, worked at Outdoor Express, Inc., a recreational vehicle dealership. Myers received no pay if no sales were finalized during the preceding two-week period. Myers filed claims for, and received, unemployment compensation benefits for periods when he did not receive commission checks for sales of recreational vehicles. A deputy commissioner with Workforce West Virginia subsequently determined that the benefits were to be repaid by Myers, finding that Myers was neither totally nor partially unemployed during various periods between November 29, 2008 and March 17, 2012, and was, therefore, ineligible for unemployment compensation benefits. The circuit court affirmed the administrative decision and directed that Myers pay back $39,713 in benefits he received for the periods in question. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part, holding (1) the circuit court correctly found that Myers was ineligible to receive unemployment compensation benefits because he was neither totally nor partially unemployed during the periods in question; but (2) the $39,713 was improperly calculated based on the statute of limitations pertaining to the overpayments in this case. View "Myers v. Outdoor Express, Inc." on Justia Law

Respondent requested a hearing before the Office of Administrative Appeals (OAH) to contest the Department of Motor Vehicle’s (DMV) revocation of his driver’s license. The OAH issued a final order (the “original final order”) reversing the DMV’s revocation of Respondent’s driver’s license. The DMV subsequently filed a motion for reconsideration requesting that the OAH revoke the original final order. The OAH granted the motion for reconsider and issued a revised final order (“revised final order”) that effectively reinstated the DMV’s revocation of Respondent’s driver’s license. The circuit court reversed the OAH’s revised final order and reinstated the OAH’s original final order, finding that the OAH had no statutory or regulatory authority to revoke its original final order and that Respondent never received notice regarding the DMV’s motion for reconsideration. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the OAH was without authority under statute or its administrative rules to reconsider, revoke, or amend its original final order. View "Reed v. Thompson" on Justia Law

In 1996, the Mason County Board of Education and Michael Whalen, the then-superintendent of schools, entered into a settlement agreement in which Whalen agreed to forego the final year of his superintendent contract in exchange for a lump sum payment of $60,000. Whalen retired in 1997. In 1998, the West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board, as administrator of the West Virginia Public Employees Retirement System, ruled that a $60,000 payment received by Whalen did not constitute “salary” and therefore would not be included when calculating his retirement annuity benefit. In 2001, Whalen filed a complaint in the circuit court that was, in essence, an appeal of the Retirement Board’s 1998 final order. The circuit court granted summary judgment for Whalen. The Retirement Board then filed this complaint seeking a writ of prohibition. The Supreme Court granted the writ, holding that Whalen’s appeal was not filed within the thirty-day period specified in W. Va. Code 29A-5-4(bb), and therefore, the circuit court exceeded its jurisdiction in ruling that Whalen’s appeal was timely. View "State ex rel. W. Va. Consol. Pub. Ret. Bd. v. Hon. David W. Nibert" on Justia Law

Russell H., a twenty-four-year-old coal miner, died in his sleep from a seizure, leaving behind his mother (Petitioner) and his six-year-old daughter, L.H. Petitioner, on L.H.’s behalf, applied for dependent’s death benefits exactly six months after she received an autopsy report indicating that Russell’s cause of death stemmed from a work-related injury. The Workers’ Compensation Board of Review denied death benefits on the basis that Petitioner failed to file her application within six months after Russell’s death. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the Board erred in finding that Petitioner’s application was time-barred because the first known medical evidence that Russell’s cause of death was work-related was not made available to the family until eight months after the death; and (2) Petitioner was a proper party to file for defendant’s death benefits on L.H.’s behalf. Remanded. View "Sheena H. v. W. Va. Office of Ins. Comm’r" on Justia Law

The Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles entered an order that administratively revoked Respondent’s driver’s license for driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol (DUI). The Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) reversed the revocation order, concluding that there was insufficient evidence that Respondent was driving while intoxicated and that he was lawfully arrested for DUI. The circuit court affirmed the OAH. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded the matter for reinstatement of the Commissioner’s revocation order, holding (1) there was sufficient evidence to establish probable cause to arrest Respondent for DUI; and (2) the license revocation in this case was proper. View "Reed v. Hill" on Justia Law

A student-athlete was ejected from a high school football game for allegedly committing a flagrant personal foul. Because the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission (SSAC) does not allow participation in the game following an ejection, the student-athlete was suspended from playing in the next game. The SSAC refused to review the student-athlete’s administrative appeal, instead invoking its non-review of ejections rule. The student-athlete sought a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction from the circuit court, arguing that the SSAC’s non-review of ejections rule violated the Legislature's requirement that the SSAC provide a “proper review procedure.” The circuit court enjoined the SSAC from enforcing its penalty against the student-athlete, finding that that the SSAC violated the Legislature’s requirement that the SSAC provide a proper review procedure. The SSAC sought a writ of prohibition to halt enforcement of the circuit court’s order. The Supreme Court denied the requested writ, holding that the SSAC’s non-review of ejections rule violates the Legislature’s requirement that the SSAC provide a proper review procedure. View "State ex rel. W. Va. Secondary Sch. Activities Comm’n v. Circuit Court" on Justia Law

The Lewis County Board of Education (Board) terminated Michael Holden’s employment as a school bus driver due to his physical inability to safely perform his job duties. Holden filed a grievance with the West Virginia Public Employees Grievance Board, alleging, among other things, that the Board’s denial of his request for a leave of absence was improper. The grievance board upheld the Board’s decision on all issues, determining that Holden was properly terminated and that his grievance on the leave of absence issue was not timely filed. The circuit court reversed, concluding that the Board improperly terminated Holden and that Holden timely filed his grievance of the Board’s denial of his request for a leave of absence. The Supreme Court reversed the circuit court’s order and reinstated the grievance board’s decision, holding that the circuit court erred in (1) setting aside the grievance board’s decision, as the Board did not err in terminating Holden based on physical incompetency; and (2) finding that Holden did not timely file his grievance as to the leave of absence issue. View "Lewis County Bd. of Educ. v. Holden" on Justia Law